Oscillating mechanism and ceiling fan using the same

ABSTRACT

A ceiling fan with an oscillating mechanism includes a clutch member for adjusting the angle of oscillation according to a user&#39;s need. When the motor is actuated, the rotating torque induced by the motor and the transmission mechanism is less than the rotational resistance of the clutch member such that the motor may drive the fan to oscillate. Further, when the user applies an external rotational force greater than the rotational resistance of the clutch member, the user can swing the fan to any angle as desired without rotating or shifting other members except the fan and the fan suspension tube. In this manner, undesired damage of the mechanism or motor due to inappropriately applied external force can be avoided efficiently.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 13/779,725, filed on Feb. 27, 2013, which claims a foreign priorityto Taiwanese Patent Application 101209324 filed on May 17, 2012, all ofwhich is incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a fan oscillating mechanism and aceiling fan using the same, and more particularly to a fan oscillatingmechanism which is adaptable to a conventional electric fan and enablesthe airflow direction of the fan to be adjusted as desired.

DISCUSSION OF THE BACKGROUND

In the conventional oscillating mechanism of an electric fan, the speedreduction mechanism is driven by the motor of the fan blade and isconnected to one end of a connecting rod while the other end of theconnecting rod is connected to the fan casing or base. In this way, theconventional oscillating mechanism of an electric fan is drivenindirectly by the fan motor in order to oscillate.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which schematically shows the conventionaloscillating mechanism of an electric fan. As shown in FIG. 1, a wormgear 111 meshed with a worm wheel 12 is disposed at the tail end of aprimary driving shaft 11 of the fan. A reduction gear unit formed by twogears 13 and 14 is operatively coupled to the lower end of the wormwheel 12. The gear 14 has a shaft 15 connected pivotally to one end of acrank plate 16. The other end of the crank plate 16 is connectedpivotally to one end of a connecting rod 17. The other end of theconnecting rod 17 is connected pivotally to a driving element 171received in a slot 181 of the casing 18.

The operation of the afore-mentioned conventional oscillating mechanismwill be described as follows. Firstly, the fan rotates and the primarydriving shaft 11 of the fan drives a speed reduction mechanism formed bythe worm gear 111, the worm wheel 12, and the gears 13 and 14 of thereduction gear unit. Then, the shaft 15 of the gear 14 moves the crankplate 16, which indirectly moves the connecting rod 17. Finally, thedriving element 171 moves the casing 18 in order to oscillate.

However, the oscillation angle of the conventional oscillating mechanismcan not be adjusted. If an external force is imposed to vary theoscillation angle of oscillation, potential risks might occur, such asthe collapse of the gear tooth, or fracture of the connecting rod ordriving elements.

This “Discussion of the Background” section is provided for backgroundinformation only. The statements in this “Discussion of the Background”are not an admission that the subject matter disclosed in this“Discussion of the Background” section constitutes prior art to thepresent disclosure, and no part of this “Discussion of the Background”section may be used as an admission that any part of this application,including this “Discussion of the Background” section, constitutes priorart to the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a fanoscillating mechanism and a ceiling fan using the same, thereby makinguse of a clutch member for adjusting the oscillation angle of the fanaccording to users' need, whereby undesired damage of the interiormechanisms or motor due to inappropriate rotation can be avoided.

In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the fan oscillatingmechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,comprises a motor transmission mechanism, a spindle link, a fansuspension tube, and a clutch member. The motor transmission mechanismincludes a motor having a driving shaft, a crank plate having one endconnected pivotally to the driving shaft, and a connecting rod having afirst end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected pivotallyto the other end of the crank plate. The spindle link includes a headend and a tail end, wherein the head end is connected pivotally to thesecond end of the connecting rod. The fan suspension tube includes a topend connected to the tail end of the spindle link and a bottom endconnected to a fan device. The clutch member includes a wave washerdisposed between the spindle link and the fan suspension tube, and theclutch member is used to provide rotational resistance. Furthermore, theclutch member can be formed by clutch lining, dampers or anelectromagnetic clutch device in order to achieve its clutch function.

When the motor is actuated, the driving shaft rotates the crank plate tomove the connecting rod so as to rotate the spindle link. As therotating torque induced by the spindle link is less than the rotationalresistance of the clutch member, the spindle link may move the fansuspension tube. This is the normal operating state in which theoscillation of the fan is actuated by the motor. On the other hand, whenthe fan suspension tube is subjected to an external rotational forcewhich is greater than the rotational resistance of the clutch member,the fan suspension tube runs freely. In other words, when a user appliesan external rotational force that is greater than the rotationalresistance of the clutch member, the oscillation angle can be changed asdesired. Following this change, the other members, except the fansuspension tube, will not rotate or shift in order to efficientlypreclude any undesired damage of the mechanism or motor due toinappropriately applied external force. Further, as the motor isdesigned to not make reverse rotation and can operate continuously, theservice life of the motor is prolonged.

Preferably, the clutch member of the present invention may comprises twowave washers and two flat washers, with the two wave washers disposedbetween the two flat washers, and the clutch member is fitted on theoutside of the spindle link. In this manner, the clutch member of thepresent invention, which is formed of two wave washers and two flatwashers, is simple in construction and low in cost. Further, therotational resistance of the clutch member can be adjusted as desired bysimply changing the quantity or the specification of the wave washer andthe flat washer.

Furthermore, the second end of the connecting rod in the presentinvention has an oval shaped slot, and the end face of the head end ofthe spindle link is provided with an axially extending raised post atone side thereof. The raised post is fitted with a sleeve thereon and isreceived in the oval shaped slot along with the sleeve in such a mannerthat the sleeve is rotatable with respect to the raised post. In thisway, as the connecting rod of the present invention has an oval shapedslot to provide spaces for rotation and displacement during operationand also owing to the assistance of the sleeve, the connecting rod andthe spindle link can have a smooth operation without interferenceoccurring therebetween so that the service life can be significantlyextended. Moreover, the oval shaped slot requires less labor andmaterial than its conventional circular counterpart and provides anextended permissible tolerance range. Consequentially, unexpected damagedue to assembly error is more likely avoided. However, as compared witha circular slot, the oval shaped slot may cause the oscillation of thefan device to lag behind by a few seconds, whereby the fan device isprone to vibrate.

Therefore, the present invention may adopt the oval shaped slot orcircular slot in the preferred embodiment. However, the presentinvention is not limited to said oval or circular slot. Slots havingother shapes such as a rectangular shape, curved shape, polygonal shapeand the like can also be adapted in the present invention.

Further, a transverse cut-out is provided at one side of the head end ofthe spindle link, which is provided to prevent interference between theelements during operation and effectively reduce the volume occupied bythe entire elements. Likewise, the design of the cut-out of the presentinvention can save on material, reduce labor cost, and extend thetolerance range so that damage caused by assembly error is reduced.

Moreover, the present invention comprises two wave washers, two flatwashers and a fixing device. The first end of the connecting rod is heldbetween the two wave washers, and then the two flat washers arerespectively disposed on the upper side and the lower side of the twowave washers. The fixing device is used to maintain the connecting rodbeing held between the two wave washers. The fixing device can be alocking screw which penetrates through the two wave washers, the twoflat washers, and the first end of the connecting rod, and is threadedor fixed to the other end of the crank plate. In this way, thearrangement of the wave washers and the flat washers in the presentinvention can provide sufficient cushioning and connection tolerancebetween the connecting rod and the crank plate so that the service lifeof the components is prolonged. Additionally, the extension in tolerancerange facilitates the assembly of the elements.

Moreover, the present invention comprises a motor base and a spindlebase. A motor can be mounted on the motor base and the spindle base canbe fixed to the motor base. The spindle base includes a bearing collarthrough which the spindle link penetrates and connects to the top end ofthe fan suspension tube. The spindle base can be a U-shaped base, andtwo limiting screws are screwed onto the surface of the base plate ofthe spindle base. A stop block extends radially outwards from the endface of the head end of the spindle link and the stop block, and canreciprocate between the two limiting screws along with the rotation ofthe spindle link. In this way, when the spindle link rotates to move thestop block to urge against one of the two limiting screws, the drivingshaft of the motor discontinues its rotation and revolves to cause thefan to revolve, which indirectly oscillates the fan in cycle. In thismanner, the two limiting screws can be used to limit the oscillationrange of the fan.

Furthermore, the tail end of the spindle link in the present inventionhas an external thread provided thereon, while the top end of the fansuspension tube has an inner thread provided thereon. The inner threadon the top end of the fan suspension tube is to be engaged with theexternal thread on the tail end of the spindle link, and the clutchmember is held therebetween in such a manner that the fan suspensiontube and spindle link are not fully fastened with each other so as toachieve free rotation relative to each other.

Moreover, the fan suspension tube in the present invention has a baffleplate provided on its top end, while one of the two limiting screws is alonger screw which penetrates through the base plate of the spindle baseand has an abutting segment protruding downward. When the fan suspensiontube is in an idling state, the abutting segment stops the baffle platefrom rotating beyond 360 degrees and breaking the wire. In addition,over-rotation of the fan suspension tube in threading with the spindlelink, which may result in the loosening and falling off of thesuspension tube, can also be prevented.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technicaladvantages of the present disclosure in order that the detaileddescription of the disclosure that follows may be better understood.Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be describedhereinafter, which form the subject of the claims of the disclosure. Itshould be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conceptionand specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis formodifying or designing other structures or processes for carrying outthe same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realizedby those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth in theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present disclosure may be derivedby referring to the detailed description and claims when considered inconnection with the Figures, where like reference numbers refer tosimilar elements throughout the Figures, and:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a conventional fan oscillatingmechanism;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present inventionas viewed from another direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of the disclosure accompanies drawings, whichare incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, andillustrate embodiments of the disclosure, but the disclosure is notlimited to the embodiments. In addition, the following embodiments canbe properly integrated to complete another embodiment.

References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “exemplary embodiment,”“other embodiments,” “another embodiment,” etc. indicate that theembodiment(s) of the disclosure so described may include a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodimentnecessarily includes the particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in the embodiment”does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may.

The present disclosure is directed to a wavelength divisionmultiplexer/demultiplexer. In order to make the present disclosurecompletely comprehensible, detailed steps and structures are provided inthe following description. Obviously, implementation of the presentdisclosure does not limit special details known by persons skilled inthe art. In addition, known structures and steps are not described indetail, so as not to limit the present disclosure unnecessarily.Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described belowin detail. However, in addition to the detailed description, the presentdisclosure may also be widely implemented in other embodiments. Thescope of the present disclosure is not limited to the detaileddescription, and is defined by the claims.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, FIG. 2 is an exploded viewof the fan oscillating mechanism according to an embodiment of thepresent invention; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the fan oscillatingmechanism of the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a perspective view ofthe fan oscillating mechanism according to the present invention asviewed from another direction. The following embodiments are given usinga ceiling fan as an implement example. However, the present invention isnot restricted to the ceiling fan, some other fans are also within therealm of the present invention, which includes an oscillating mechanismtherein such as a desk fan, standing fan or hanging fan.

As shown in the Figures, a motor 2 comprises a driving shaft 21 throughwhich the motor outputs rotating torque. The motor 2 is fixed on a motorbase 22 which can be attached to a wall or ceiling, depending on theinstallation site desired. The driving shaft 21 of the motor 2 isconnected pivotally to one end of a crank plate 3, while the other endof the crank plate 3 is connected pivotally to a first end 41 of aconnecting rod 4. In this embodiment, the first end 41 of the connectingrod 4 is held between two wave washers 31, and two flat washers 32 arerespectively disposed on the upper side and lower side of the tworespective wave washers 31. A locking screw 33 is provided to penetratethrough the two wave washers 31, the two flat washers 32, and the firstend 41 of the connecting rod 4, and is threaded to the other end of thecrank plate 3 so that the first end 41 of the connecting rod 4 ispivotally connected with the locking screw 33. In this way, thearrangement of the wave washers 31 and the flat washers 32 providessufficient cushioning and connection tolerance between the connectingrod 4 and the crank plate 3 so that the service life of the componentsis prolonged. In addition, the extension of the tolerance rangefacilitates the convenient assembly.

Furthermore, a second end 42 of the connecting rod 4 is connectedpivotally to a head end 51 of a spindle link 5. The second end 42 of theconnecting rod 4 has a slot 421. The end face 510 of the head end 51 ofthe spindle link 5 is provided with an axially extending raised post 511at one side thereof. The raised post 511 is fitted with a sleeve 422thereon and placed in the slot 421 along with the sleeve 422 in such amanner that the sleeve 422 is rotatable with respect to the raised post511.

The slot 421 located at the second end 42 of the connecting rod 4,according to the present embodiment, can be an oval shaped slot. Theslot 421 provides spaces for rotation and displacement during operation.Moreover, the assistance of the sleeve 422 provides, smooth operationbetween the connecting rod 4 and the spindle link 5 without interferenceoccurring therebetween. Therefore, the service life of the elements issignificantly extended. The slot 421 with an oval shape requires lesslabor and material than its conventional circular counterparts.Furthermore, as the tolerance range of the slot is extended, damage dueto assembly error is reduced.

As compared with a circular slot, the oval shaped slot may cause theoscillation of the fan device to lag behind by a few seconds, wherebythe fan device is prone to vibrate. To inhibit the vibration of the fandevice, the slot 421 located at the second end 42 of the connecting rod4 could be a conventional circular slot, so as to meet various userdemands.

At the side of the end face of the head end 51 of the spindle link 5opposite to the side where the raised post 511 is located, a cut-out 512is provided. The cut-out 512 serves to reduce the spaces between theelements; thus preventing interference between the elements.Specifically, when the motor 2 rotates, the flat washers 32 below thecrank plate 3 and the connecting rod 4 will interfere with the head end51 of the spindle link 5. The cut-out 512 can effectively avoid suchinterference from happening. Likewise, the design of the cut-out 512 cansave on material, reduce labor cost, and extend the tolerance range.Consequently, interference due to assembly error can be avoided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a bearing collar 531 is mounted on a spindlebase 53 which is fixed on the motor base 2. The spindle link 5 passesthrough the bearing collar 531. A stop block 54 extends radiallyoutwards from the end face 510 of the head end 51 of the spindle link 5at a location in proximity to the raised post 511. In this embodiment,the spindle base 53 is a U-shaped base, and two limiting screws 533 arescrewed onto the upper surface 532 of the base plate 530. The stop block54 provided on the head end 51 of the spindle link 5 reciprocatesbetween the two limiting screws 533 along with the rotation of thespindle link 5. In this way, when the spindle link 5 rotates to move thestop block 54 to urge against one of the two limiting screws 533, thedriving shaft 21 of the motor 2 revolves to cause the fan to rotate,which indirectly oscillates the fan in cycle. In other words, the twolimiting screws 533 are used to limit the rotation range of the spindlelink 5, i.e., the oscillation angle of the fan, which is set to be 110degrees in this embodiment.

Further, the spindle link 5 is connected in series with a clutch member7, and a tail end 52 of the spindle link 5 is connected to a fansuspension tube 6. In this embodiment, the clutch member 7 includes twowave washers 71 and two flat washers 72. The two wave washers 71 aredisposed between the two flat washers 72. The clutch member 7 is fittedon the spindle link 5. In this manner, the clutch member 7 of thisembodiment which is formed of two wave washers 71 and two flat washers72, is simple in construction and low in cost. In addition, therotational resistance of the clutch member 7 can be adjusted as desiredby simply changing the quantity or the specification of the wave washer71 and the flat washer 72.

Referring back to FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the tail end 52 of thespindle link 5 has an external thread 520 provided thereon, while thetop end 61 of the fan suspension tube 6 has an inner thread 610 providedthereon. The inner thread 610 on the top end 61 of the fan suspensiontube 6 is to be engaged with the external thread 520 on the tail end 52of the spindle link 5. Moreover, one of the two limiting screws 533 is alonger screw 534, which extends through the base plate 530 of thespindle base 53 and has an abutting segment 535 that protrudesdownwards. In addition, a baffle plate 611 is provided on the top end 61of the fan suspension tube 6. The baffle plate 611 is designed to bestopped by the abutting segment 535 so as not to rotate beyond 360degrees. When the fan suspension tube 6 is in a free state, the abuttingsegment 535 stops the baffle plate 611 from rotating beyond 360 degreesand breaking the wire. Furthermore, the connected fan suspension tube 6is precluded from over-rotation and subsequently loosening and fallingoff. As for a tail end 62 of the fan suspension tube 6, it is connectedto a fan device 8.

The operation of this embodiment is detailed as follows. As the clutchmember 7 is formed of the wave washers 71 and the flat washers 72, arotational resistance is provided. When the motor 2 is actuated, thedriving shaft 21 rotates the crank plate 3 to move the connecting rod 4so as to rotate the spindle link 5. However, as the rotating torqueinduced by the spindle link 5 is less than the rotational resistance ofthe clutch member 7 in magnitude, the fan suspension tube 6 is moved bythe spindle link 5 so as to facilitate the oscillation of the fan device8. This is the normal operating state in which the oscillation of thefan device 8 is actuated by the motor 2. On the other hand, when it isdesired to adjust the orientation of the fan device 8, an externalrotational force is applied onto the fan device 8. When the externalrotational force is greater than the rotational resistance of the clutchmember 7, the fan suspension tube 6 runs freely and the oscillationangle can be adjusted as desired. In this manner, due to the provisionof the clutch member 7, the oscillation angle of the fan can be adjustedat the user's will. In addition, the damage to the oscillating mechanismor the motor resulting from inappropriately applied external force canbe effectively precluded.

Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been describedin detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutionsand alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. For example,many of the processes discussed above can be implemented in differentmethodologies and replaced by other processes, or a combination thereof.

Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to belimited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine,manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps describedin the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readilyappreciate from the disclosure of the present disclosure, processes,machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps,presently existing or later to be developed, that perform substantiallythe same function or achieve substantially the same result as thecorresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according tothe present disclosure. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended toinclude within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture,compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

What is claimed is:
 1. An oscillating mechanism, comprising: a driving shaft; a crank plate having one end connected pivotally to the driving shaft; a connecting rod having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected pivotally to the other end of the crank plate; a spindle link having a head end connected pivotally to the second end of the connecting rod, and a tail end; a suspension tube having a top end connected to the tail end of the spindle link; and a clutch member having at least one wave washer disposed between the spindle link and the suspension tube, wherein the clutch member includes two wave washers and two flat washers, the two wave washers are disposed between the two flat washers.
 2. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clutch member is fitted on the spindle link.
 3. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the head end of the spindle link is provided with a transverse cut-out at one side of an end face thereof.
 4. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, further comprising two wave washers, two flat washers, and one locking screw, the first end of the connecting rod is held between the two wave washers; the two flat washers are respectively disposed on the upper side and the lower side of the two wave washers; and the locking screw is disposed to penetrate through the two wave washers, the two flat washers and the first end of the connecting rod and is screwed onto the other end of the crank plate.
 5. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a motor base on which a motor is mounted, and a spindle base fixed to the motor base; wherein the spindle base includes a bearing collar through which the spindle link penetrates and connects to the top end of the suspension tube.
 6. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 5, wherein the spindle base is a U-shaped base having a base plate, and two limiting screws are screwed onto the upper surface of the base plate; a stop block is transversely disposed on the end face of the head end of the spindle link and is arranged to reciprocate between the two limiting screws along with the rotation of the spindle link.
 7. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 6, wherein the suspension tube has a baffle plate provided on the top, and one of the two limiting screws is a longer screw extending through the base plate of the spindle base, the longer screw has a downwardly protruding abutting segment configured to stop the baffle plate from rotating beyond 360 degrees when the suspension tube is in a free state.
 8. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clutch member provides a rotational resistance such that when the driving shaft rotates the crank plate to move the connecting rod to rotate the spindle link, whereby the spindle link induces a rotating torque that is less than the rotational resistance of the clutch member, and thus the spindle link moves the suspension tube to rotate.
 9. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the suspension tube runs freely when the suspension tube is subjected to an external rotational force greater than the rotational resistance of the clutch member.
 10. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second end of the connecting rod has an oval slot, the head end of the spindle link is provided with an axially extending raised post, and the raised post is placed in the oval slot.
 11. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a sleeve, and the raised post is fitted with the sleeve.
 12. The oscillating mechanism as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a fan device connected to a bottom end of the suspension tube.
 13. A ceiling fan, comprising: a transmission mechanism including a driving shaft, a crank plate having one end connected pivotally to the driving shaft, and a connecting rod having a first end connected pivotally to the other end of the crank plate, and a second end; a clutch member connecting to a fan suspension tube; a spindle link coupling the transmission mechanism with the clutch member; wherein the clutch member provides a rotational resistance; when the driving shaft rotates the crank plate to move the connecting rod so as to rotate the spindle link, whereby the spindle link induces a rotating torque that is less than the rotational resistance of the clutch member; and thus the spindle link moves the fan suspension tube to rotate; and a fan device connected to a bottom end of the suspension tube, wherein the second end of the connecting rod has an oval slot, a head end of the spindle link is provided with an axially extending raised post, and the raised post is placed in the oval slot.
 14. The ceiling fan as claimed in claim 13, wherein the clutch member includes at least one wave washer disposed between the spindle link and the fan suspension tube.
 15. The ceiling fan as claimed in claim 13, wherein the fan suspension tube runs freely when the fan suspension tube is subjected to an external rotational force greater than the rotational resistance of the clutch member.
 16. An oscillating mechanism, comprising: A driving shaft; a crank plate having one end connected pivotally to the driving shaft; a connecting rod having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected pivotally to the other end of the crank plate; two wave washers; two flat washers; and one locking screw; wherein the first end of the connecting rod is held between the two wave washers, the two flat washers are respectively disposed on the upper side and the lower side of the two wave washers, and the locking screw is configured to fix the connecting rod between the wave washers; further comprising a clutch member disposed between a spindle link and a suspension tube; wherein the clutch member includes two additional wave washers and two additional flat washers, the two additional wave washers are disposed between the two additional flat washers, and the clutch member is fitted on the spindle link. 